BEET GAJAR ALOOR PUR BHORA POROTA

Such humble platters are catching my fancy these days.... with unavailability of my kind of fish here in this island.... I am perhaps leaning towards vegetarian food. That does not make me less of a fish lover, just waiting for the India visit coming December... I have to feed myself and the husband 'hasher dimer jhol', 'kochi pathar jhol', 'aar, boyal, dhai, koi, tyangra'... 'kajoli & charapona' for myself... The son goes to Barrackpore, plays car games and 'dimma, nono, Bidisha Aunty' take good care of his food... No romantic liaison does happen with the husband during the  holiday.... I have no time.... "Pradip Bonya dir bari theke amai ekta gas cylinder ene dao na, kuri taka debo cha khete".... "Nirmal ekta mistiri pathao bhai dorjar kobja bhengeche".... "then there is a Khokon.... who promises now and comes after two days".... One can see the wife cleaning the floors with a mixture of oxalic powder and surf.... the husband shouts why one has to do all these when one makes a six monthly or yearly visit. I do not know what to say to this... I mean I cannot stay in filth for 20 days .... come on. The mother sets it for us to get in and then it is solely my responsibility! 

I am not a single child, the child like brother is heavily dependent on his mother! Only the father-in-law and the mother understand my ordeal because they sweat it out for the family! These girls Bonya & Paramita help me a lot. There are 4-5 eye surgeons including my friend Dr. Monalisa Pramanik and the fatherly figure Dr. Debashis Roychoudhuri da within our condominium, the reason for going to Arup da are two... one is that my entire family goes to him ever since we had shifted to Barrackpore. If you visit Disha Eye Hospital at Barrackpore, you will know about his fame... his name features just after the founder Dr. Debasish Bhattacharya.... Secondly, he always gives some kind of vocal tonic & moral boost to the son that his father does not! I very much wish to arrange a get together with these 5-6 families, specially when T is there... but unable to.... I work with few spices there... there is no trolley system ... Spencer is 200mt. from our main gate but how to carry stuffs back home? We do not even have a free car service! Wise people will understand my inability to socialise there anymore. The few school friends who are there do I call home because they are few in number, rest are located elsewhere! 

You see Life of an Expat on a holiday may not be the same! Misunderstandings should be cleared.... there had been complaints why a food blogger gives a treat outside... this is the reason.... I can just go, talk over phone and come back.... but friends matter to us.... we make it a point to meet! The man has to spend a night with one Joy Ghosh and visit a car & bike showroom in Shyambazaar... that bald headed guy ... Peerless head SK Roy's nephew... 45 years of relationship you know ... I do not poke my flat nose into that! Anyway, life seems hopeful when a Madhuchanda Dey Ghosh consoles saying that T still helps a lot, Partha Dey does not even know anything about how a home is run.... The conditions he set before marriage were clear.... "I have to remain focussed to reach the top, my career comes first." One of the top honchos of a leading bank in India, he could be at Sundar Pichai's place but luck does matter.... I do believe it is a factor!

 Look at my ruti / chapati this morning.... I am not this lucky everyday.... I do not do a ruti the right way, while rolling, it should move by itself and form a circle. I have to touch it and change position while rolling. They love it so much so that I had to learn making it finally at age 35. Fluffing up of a chapati depends on the correct heating of the pan. I packed their lunch boxes with "ruti o kumror tarkari" today.

Their snack box had a left over pizza we ordered on Saturday evening and a banana -jaggery bread I made yesterday evening.

Look at me, what I am eating early morning! From where and how will I lose a pound?

Anyway, however poor I am with stuffed parathas, I do them twice or thrice a month for practice and get smile to the family.... this BEET GAJAR ALOOR PUR BHORA POROTA looks better in shape... isn't it?

Cristine may be on leave, but our movie going ventures at night continues. I am not  keen about  leaving the son alone for 3 hrs..... if not ghosts, he is scared of flies... "cockie & tiktik".... for the husband and the couple friends do I agree! Ipsita & T want kids to be independent. I know it is required.... but I am our mother's daughter, how to? Last Monday, we watched Saif Ali Khan's Bazaar.... the husband says its a remake of the movie Wall Street with an Indian twist.... I do not understand finance yet went for my favourite actor.... Today we will be going for Thugs of Hindustan.... the son does not say anything but I can sense the displeasure on his face.... he does not chat with mumma-babai but they have to stay around. Look who visited our home to deliver the food "ucche bhaja, kumro shaak aloo diye o sultan maacher patla jhol" that Ipsita had cooked... its their Kaizu.... he is a rescued pup that they adopted.... he loves me and do greet me licking my feet when I visit. The son did not eat Ipsita aunty's 'maacher jhol' because mumma cooked GOAN PRAWN CURRY at home. I did send it to them but they do not wish a prawn curry from me but an authentic panchmeshali torkari or loti shorshe narkol or kochur shaak. 

Coming to the sultan fish, it tasted like rui maach... sweeter and oh! so fresh.... off course sourced from a Bangladeshi store. I will be asking Ipsita's husband tonight and visit there with my trolley on Thursday.... loved it! The son will get some meat and salmon or prawn! Problem solved! The husband or his mother is not in the habit of deboning fish.... to that I doubt whether they are truly Bengali or not, one who does not eat smaller sized "tyangra / pabda, charapona" cannot be called a Bengali.... those "bherir" farmed, big sized, fleshy 'tyangra / pabda' are not near to the taste of the real ones. To me, farmed fish is unwelcome. Well, you are right, at times I feel like retiring at a farm house in Hoogly, Nadia or Murshidabaad district. I wish few particular things these days.... like I do not have the guts to travel alone, else you would have seen me at Leh-Ladakh any day.... alone! No one will say... "akele akele kahan ja rahein ho... hamey bhi tumharein saath le jao.... akele... akele"..... anyone? haha! I wonder how my blogger friend Navanitham Krishnan travels alone... I can only say kudos to that! 

The husband does not wish to go to Leh Ladakh, I do not force.... when I broke down watching the film featuring the song "akele hai to kya gam hai" back in 1988... it was T who helped me stand straight and move ahead .... Leave that, he is good enough to have that BEET GAJAR ALOOR PUR BHORA POROTA with the pickle and yogurt, but the son? Nope, he needs something like this CASHEW MUTTON alongside.... but he does not mind having a stuffed paratha just like that.... he may eat the chapattis today without the veggies.... Then I do make good use of leftover vegetable dishes, will share later the idea. Anyway, the initial plan was to make vegetable cutlets, but again I got late and made these parathas.... was I good with the planning?

INGREDIENTS : [for the stuffing]

Beetroot : 1medium sized
Carrot : 1standard sized
Potato : 2medium sized
Salt : As Required
Cumin Seed : 1/2tsp

Cumin Powder : 2 tsp

Coriander Powder : 2 tsp

Dry Mango Powder : 2 tsp

Red Chilli Powder : 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder : 1/4tsp

Asafoetida Powder : 2-3 pinch

Cornflour : 1 tbsp
Oil : 1 tbsp

INGREDIENTS : [FINAL ASSORTMENT]

The Cooked Stuffing
Refined Flour : 1coffee mug
Wheat Flour : 1/2coffee mug
Salt : 2pinch
Oil : 1tbsp + 1tsp for each paratha / porota

PROCEDURE :

At first, we will wash the beetroot, carrot and potatoes; peel them, cut further and pressure cook at low adding a coffee mug of water and little salt up to 2 whistles.

Once cold, we will open the cover and take the content on a big bowl. We need not drain the water but mash it well.

We will heat the oil in a wok and temper with the cumin seeds & asafoetida.

We will add the boiled & mashed beetroot, carrot and potato to the wok and fold in well.

We will add all of the powdered spices except the dry mango powder & fold in well, keep stir cooking!

We will add the dry mango powder & stir cook for a minute!

We will add the cornflour, fold in well & take down the wok!

The stuffing is ready, let it cool on a plate.

Take both the flours, 1tbsp oil, salt in a wide mouthed bowl.

Rub for 2-3 minutes.

Add water little by little to form a smooth dough that may take 5-7 minutes.

Keep it covered for 10-12 minutes!

Tear out portions, smoothen between your palms and make pockets.

Fill with the stuffing. Close properly. 

Dust your rolling base with some flour. Dust each stuffed balls and use the rolling pin softly on them to roll out roundels. 

Do not press hard.... else the stuffing comes out. I am also not good with stuffed parathas!

Heat a pan. Place an uncooked paratha and roast both side till 60% done. Add 1tsp oil and cook both sides well!

We had them with a variety of pickle!